Ninja's Crispi Pro is a powerful glass air fryer that perfectly crisped foods with one frustrating flaw

I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of plastic in my kitchen, but I have found that many of the appliances we turn to for modern conveniences are made with a lot of plastic. One such item is the air fryer, a product I didn’t want to love, but ended up using more often than I ever imagined. After testing numerous of the best air fryers, the Ninja Crispi Pro impressed me for many reasons.

What initially intrigued me about the Ninja Crispi Pro was its design, which is different than anything else on the market. It reimagines what you might expect from an air fryer, since most of the vessel is made of glass rather than a traditional basket. Compared with traditional basket-style air fryers, the glass containers make the experience feel more transparent, flexible, and useful beyond cooking. They also let you watch food crisp in real time, which is more satisfying than it sounds.

However, the Crispi Pro is not entirely plastic-free, including the motor housing, and I get into its non-toxic claims later in the review. Still, this baby can crisp nearly anything, and I used it to finish some items other machines could not handle during testing, such as chicken wings.

What makes the Ninja Crispi Pro different

One of the Ninja Crispi Pro’s biggest differences is that it air fries in glass containers. The Pro includes a family-sized 6-quart and individual-sized 2.5-quart basket, and you can purchase additional vessels. Not only can you see everything as it cooks, but the containers also come with plastic lids for storing leftovers. The dishes can also be used to serve or prep food if you’re using a marinade.

Aside from its various applications, which make the workflow feel more, well, seamless, the glass is also a plus because it means less plastic in the kitchen. That’s appealing for home cooks trying to move away from traditional nonstick baskets. However, it should be clear that a ceramic crisper plate is still part of the cooking setup, so this is not a totally coating-free system.

Is the Ninja Crispi Pro non-toxic?

The borosilicate glass containers are a major part of the appeal and marketing claim, since many people are looking to reduce microplastics and are wary of the non-stick coatings found in many air fryers. Ninja capitalizes on these concerns and claims the Crispi Pro is non-toxic and free of PTFE, PFAS, and non-stick chemical coatings.

We could not scientifically verify those material claims during testing. What I can say is that this air fryer uses less plastic and less traditional nonstick cooking surface than most air fryers I’ve tested. If you are trying to reduce plastic in your kitchen, that is a real advantage. If you want a completely coating-free appliance, however, this is not quite that. I’ve seen that some people use the device without the crisping insert or try aftermarket solutions, but I cannot vouch for their safety or effectiveness.

Ninja Crispi Pro vs Ninja Crispi

The Ninja Crispi Pro offers more power, more capacity, and a more traditional countertop air fryer setup. Its stand-style design makes it easier to slide the containers in and out while cooking, and the larger 6-quart vessel is more useful for family meals. However, it is also heavier, more expensive, and less convenient to store.

The original Ninja Crispi air fryer offers the glass-container concept in a smaller, less expensive, and easier-to-store package. The unit comes with 4 quarts and 6 cup glass containers, compared to the Pro's 6-quart and 2.5-quart set up. It is lighter, more portable, and does not need to live on the counter, which makes it more practical for small kitchens or anyone who moves appliances in and out of storage. As it it not mounted on a stand,you can store the components separately, but it can increase exposure to the heated elements.

I'd recommend the original Crispi if space and price are the main concerns and the Crispi Pro if you want the most capable version of Ninja's glass air fryer system and plan to keep it on your counter.

Why I love it

It simplified my weeknight workflow.

Once the air fryer is on the counter, it’s really easy to use and has incredibly intuitive controls. The buttons and dials are easy to navigate, and I simply slide the container into the air fryer's grooves, and it's ready to cook. I appreciate the Max Crisp and recrisp options. I’ve reheated leftovers or re-crisped takeout many times. It might be its best feature and often overlooked on many air fryers. It was especially useful on nights when dinner happened in shifts because of kids’ sports and work schedules. Everyone could still get crispy nuggets, fries, or leftovers, no matter when they sat down to eat.

You can store the glass container with the motor and keep the extra container in your cabinet or nest the smaller container inside the larger one. The glass design actually makes cooking easier, and they’re easy to transfer from the fridge to the counter to the table. Being able to see food through the glass helped prevent overcooking. Mostly though, it was just fun to watch the time-lapse of pale-yellow fries turning golden and crunchy, like my own personal cooking show.

Each comes with a matching plastic lid so you can store prepped ingredients or leftovers in the fridge. I didn’t find that prepping ingredients in the same vessel was a good idea if I wanted things to be crisp, since the added moisture from marinades was a deterrent to crispness.

The glass design drew me in, but the crisping performance is what made me keep using it.

The Crispi Pro did an excellent job of evenly browning and crisping the food. During testing, I often used it to finish foods that other air fryers struggled with. For instance, during a chicken wing test, another brand failed to get the skin as crisp as I wanted, so I moved them to the Ninja Crispi Pro, where they finished beautifully, saving dinner time. Even with the requisite shaking and flipping, some items with more inherent moisture, such as fresh chicken wings, took longer to cook than in the basket-style models we tested.

When it comes to possibilities, I encourage people to think beyond the chicken wings and French fries that these machines are so good for. I used both containers to make a pork tenderloin and Brussels sprouts one night, and Japanese sweet potatoes the next. It can really do a lot more than foods that come in bags meant for the freezer. It is also great for reheating leftovers if you are someone who would rather not use a microwave.

One caveat with the Ninja Crispi Pro is that the glass can sometimes produce too much moisture, which can work against cooking when you want very dry heat. The way to avoid this is to avoid overcrowding the containers. Yet, I do find the containers are sometimes a deterrent, as you can only fit so much into the large container compared to other basket fires with dividers or other mechanisms, like dual baskets, which let you spread out the hot, dry air. So, it’s spacious, but a divider of some sort would help it accommodate more, since you can only fit so much in this style. You get a lot more real estate for chicken wings in a basket style.

What I didn’t love

Cleanup is where the design works against it

While it seems like cleanup would be easier with a glass air fryer, I found it more difficult than with other designs. The glass containers have integrated, non-removable handles, and while they can go in the dishwasher, they never look fully clean. There's always some discoloration.

The integrated handles also make drying more difficult. Moisture can get trapped between the handle attachment and the glass exterior. No matter how well you air-dry it, water lingered, creating a breeding ground for bacteria. I hope Ninja addresses this design issue, which was also a problem with the initial Crispi air fryer — and the reason I gave that one away. This is a real problem the brand needs to address because it affects my overall satisfaction with this product.

The multi-part design makes storage less convenient

This is also much more awkward to pick up and store, with its multiple parts, compared to a basket air fryer. There are multiple pieces to manage, and the unit is heavy enough that I would not recommend it for anyone with mobility concerns or anyone who needs to move their appliances in and out of storage frequently.

Finally, it is much more expensive than standard air fryers, even its little sister. Ninja uses "non-toxic" as a claim, but we are not sure of its validity.

Alternatives to consider

There aren't many other glass-based air fryers, but these are good choices if the Pro isn't for you.

If you are not bothered by plastic or are looking for a glass air fryer, I also recommend the Cosori TurboBlaze, which won our best overall category during my air fryer testing. It is only $120, and the TurboBlaze technology is not false advertising. This air fryer cooks food accurately and quickly. I also appreciated the sleek digital display and how easy it was to move out of the way when not in use. We also like the Instant Vortex Plus, which has a glass viewing window to monitor food progress, and the model we tested has odor-erasing technology that absorbs lingering food smells. Read our Instant Vortex Plus review.

The bottom line

The Ninja Crispi Pro is not just an air fryer for people who want to watch their fries get crispy. It is an air fryer for people who may have concerns about their air fryer basket. The glass containers make air fryer cooking feel more transparent and make leftovers easier to manage. While I would not call it a perfect or completely coating-free solution, it is a genuinely compelling solution for those looking to reduce plastic in the kitchen. Plus, it is super powerful to boot.

Who should buy:

• Those looking to reduce plastic in their kitchen.
• Cooks who want to watch their dishes in progress.
• Someone who wants to prep, cook, and store in the same container.

Who should skip:

• Those with mobility concerns find it awkward to move.
• People who don't want any semblance of a nonstick coating.
• Cooks who need more capacity for larger families.

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